1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to tool and component part organization systems and structures and, in particular, to magnetic-based tool and component part organization systems.
2. Description of Related Art
In order to provide organization to one's work area, some type of system or structural arrangement is often desired. For example, as a person collects tools and tool parts over a period of time, he or she may require some manner of organizing and positioning these tools and parts for easy access and recall. One example of a tool holding device is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,394 directed to a magnetic socket holder. While the socket holder disclosed in this reference uses magnetic force, other tool attachment and organization means are known in the art. For example, in a typical tool chest, a slideable drawer with segregated compartments is used. For tool organization structures that hang on the wall and are oriented in a vertical plane, clips or other attachment devices can be used. Examples of other magnet-based organizing systems may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,039,178; 6,431,373; 6,092,655; 5,855,285; 4,337,860; 3,726,393; 3,405,377; and 1,712,473. However, such prior art systems have many drawbacks.
When using mechanical clips to hold tools and tool components in place, such clips are subject to breaking or they require excessive force to remove the tool from the clip. Tool chest trays are often inconvenient since a user will often place multiple and stacked tools and other construction components within the tray, which, in turn, leads to additional disorganization and inability to easily locate the desired tool or component.
Typical magnetic tool organization systems use economical magnets, such as flexible magnets or ceramic magnets, that do not have sufficient holding power to allow storage of many tools in a vertical orientation, such as on a wall, a vertical pegboard, the side of a metal toolbox, etc. While ceramic magnets do offer more holding power than flexible magnets, products utilizing ceramic magnets are still deficient in holding power for heavy tools and are expensive to manufacture due to the inherent fragility of the ceramic magnets, which leads to product loss during manufacture. Further, this inherent fragility causes a substantially less than desired product life because of breakage during normal use. Also, prior art structures and arrangements have poor product life, are subject to breakage and loss and are difficult to manufacture.